Finish

So what I was going to say when MLS called: Two articles from NYT that got my attention yesterday. One was about "farm-to-cafeteria" programs that use local farmers to supply our schools. HOORAY! This is exactly what needs to be happening in the world and is good for ALL parties involved. Except for the huge distributors and their filthy 18-wheeler refrigerated trucks. No we'll have fresher foods, healthier kids, and profits and proceeds in the local economy and farmers' pockets. AND less CO2 in our air.

This reminded me of Sewanee:
["It's so important for this college to be part of the place," Dr. Nugent said over dinner on the eve of the second annual National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, which took place at Kenyon this summer. "We are perceived as an elite institution on the hill, surrounded by a rural community. We needed to come down off the hill and be good neighbors. We wanted to make a tangible commitment to the local economy."]

Another good quote:
["This is what we should be doing," he said. "The globalization of food, the hidden costs, the loss of nutrition: it's not healthy for the planet or for the human body."]

The other article (op-ed Maureen Dowd) was less uplifting, but I just have to harp on it a little.

First - the president's workaholic style:

[As The Financial Times noted, Mr. Bush is acting positively French in his love of le loafing, with 339 days at his ranch since he took office - nearly a year out of his five. Most Americans, on the other hand, take fewer vacations than anyone else in the developed world (even the Japanese), averaging only 13 to 16 days off a year.]

Later, she AGAIN proves to us why the war is a hoax:

[What twisted logic: with no W.M.D., no link to 9/11 and no democracy, now we have to keep killing people and have our kids killed because so many of our kids have been killed already? Talk about a vicious circle: the killing keeps justifying itself.]

And I just can't help myself with this one:

[Just because the final reason the president came up with for invading Iraq - to create a democracy with freedom of religion and minority rights - has been dashed, why stop relaxing? W. is determined to stay the course on bike trails all over the West.

This president has never had to pull all-nighters or work very hard, because Daddy's friends always gave him a boost when he flamed out. When was the last time Mr. Bush saw the clock strike midnight? At these prices, though, I guess he can't afford to burn the midnight oil.]

That hit close to home as I read it yesterday post-call.